With the global recession now in the rear view mirror, life science companies are slowly shifting their primary cost-cutting focus back toward long-term top-line growth. Manufacturing and supply chain strategies are not only a critical component of maintaining lower-costs, but they also hold the key to reducing corporate liability, protecting brand equity and optimizing operational efficiency going forward. A key piece of this effort includes IT outsourcing, and all fingers point to continued growth in this

The importance of outsourcing within manufacturing and supply chain operations continues to grow rapidly, with 63% of pharmaceutical companies currently outsourcing some aspect of manufacturing or supply chain related IT. This has increased 31%, or nearly 15% annually, over the past two years, since the number was 48% in 2008. One of the most important aspects of IT outsourcing is selecting the right vendor, to ensure your IT partner provides service that is not only cost-effective and…

Notwithstanding the current issues with the iPhone 4, the use of mobile technologies (including, cell phones, Blackberries, iPhones/iTouches, PDAs, and iPads) are delivering significant benefits to the life sciences industry today. In an upcoming short report, I plan to highlight some of the specific areas where mobile solutions are justifying their use and delivering value in the industry across a wide variety of applications. With the role of consumers in the greater health industry continues

With more than 80 applications on my first generation iTouch (WiFi connected to my home network), the device provides a practical (and often faster) alternative to my netbook and laptop for home use. There seems to be an app for virtually any need with picture quality graphics and an easy to use touch interface that are both practical and intuitive. Granted it is not the best approach to applications that require any amount of typing and the resolution often requires zooming in or…

Each year, IDC Health Insights polls the life science industry and asks companies about which IT vendors they plan to spend money with over the coming year. The survey, which is performed as part of our Life Science Leading Indicators report, asks companies to name all software, hardware, and IT service vendors that they plan to use within the next 12 months. This year's survey concluded this morning, and received 135 responses, so I thought I'd share some of the highlights.

Not surprisingly, Dell continued to hold first place in the hardware category with 42.2% of respondents expecting to purchase hardware from them over the next 12 months. Keep in mind this includes everything from servers to desktops. This is down from 52.7% last year, but Dell still has a firm grip on first place and has held the top spot each of the last three years. HP placed second with 23%, moving up a spot after placing third last year behind IBM. Cisco and Apple tied for third place…